Alphabet of Thorn

Deep inside a palace on the edge of the world, the orphan Nepenthe pores over books in the royal library, translating their languages and learning their secrets. At sixteen, she knows little of the outside world. But when a young mage gives Nepenthe a book that has defied translation - a book written in a language of thorns - it speaks to Nepenthe's soul, and becomes her secret obsession. As the words escape the brambles they reveal themselves - and begin to reveal Nepenthe's destiny ...

Amazon.com Review

Patricia A. McKillip is one of America's greatest fantasy authors. Her best known novels include Riddle-Master; World Fantasy Award winner The Forgotten Beasts of Eld; World Fantasy Award and Mythopoeic Award winner Ombria in Shadow; and In the Forests of Serre. Like its predecessors, Alphabet of Thorn demonstrates McKillip's mastery of prose and her knowledge of the human heart. As an infant, Nepenthe was abandoned by her mother on the edge of a cliff so high no one can hear the sea below. Nepenthe was raised by the librarians of the Royal Library of Raine, and knows little of the outside world beyond what she reads. She has a gift for translation, and she alone has a chance of translating a newly arrived book, a mysterious tome written in an alien alphabet that resembles thorns. But Nepenthe has fallen in love with the high-born student-mage who brings her the book. And the thorns are exerting a strange power over her--a magic that may destroy not only Nepenthe, but the kingdom of Raine and the entire world. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

Those who have bemoaned the death of the true fairy tale will be delighted by this charming foray from World Fantasy Award-winner McKillip (Ombria in Shadow). She skillfully weaves together two eras and two sets of believable characters to create a single spellbinding story that brilliantly modernizes a beautiful old formula: the clever orphaned foundling has no desire to seek out her parents nor ambition for high office; the powerful wizard is a disguised woman deeply in love with the conquering king, who treats his subjects kindly; the sullen young queen catapulted to her throne by her father's unexpected death turns out to have both skill and humor in unexpected places; the haughty witch finds herself honestly baffled by turns of events that she never predicted. Moreover, where another author might have played up slapstick clumsiness for cheap laughs, McKillip evokes compassion for the characters' frustrations as they take their befuddled steps toward their predestined meeting. Best of all, the strong female leads neither rail against nor submit to patriarchy. In this magical world blissfully free of bias, people are simply themselves, equally intelligent and witty and thoroughly capable while prone to the occasional error, in a manner that transcends feminism and becomes a celebration of essential humanity. The brisk sweep to the slightly abrupt conclusion leaves the reader longing for more. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

McKillip has a long record of creating magical stories and faery worlds that truly live, even if it takes a bit of reading to get into them. This book is an excellent example of her approach. Nepenthe, an orphan, is a scribe and translator in the royal library of Raine. Then, during the coronation of the new queen of Raine, a young mage brings her a book written in a language of thorns that no one can read. Discovering its secret becomes her obsession. Meanwhile, the young queen must deal with courtiers who seek to profit from her youth and inexperience. Her search for usable knowledge brings her secretly to the library. An old epic of forgotten times may have something to say of the fate of Raine, if the facts behind the poetry can be found, and the quest for those facts constitutes the heart of a novel that won't in the least disappoint McKillip's loyal readers or their high expectations. Frieda MurrayCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Patricia A. McKillip is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, and the author of numerous novels.

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